Harley's eating potting soil

[Sherry and Harley]

Hi there-

Any thoughts on why Harley would be trying to eat the soil from one of my potted plants. I haven't seen her do this before. She was meowing at me for food and I was trying to hold off until test time. A second later I heard her chowing down behind me. I got up and fed her right away. She scarfed the food down and barfed a little of it back up (which is normal when she eats quickly). But a minute later, she was back eating the soil. She's had tons to eat today. I had to shoot the AM shot 2.5 hours early, so I left her lots of wet food today. She's probably had close to 4 cans of (3%) FF. Ugh...I'm afraid to hear what this might be. Interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks!


s

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Good Lord like there isnt enough to worry about...I was always taught that when an animal eats something not ordinary in the diet it means that his system is lacking in some way. I would call my Vet and ask what kind of tests need to be run and go from there. Good luck I hope this is just a one time incident.

I'm sure there are other explainations and there will be smarter people than me to help you. Hang in there and in the meantime, I'd remove the plant so Harley cant get to it.
Jeanne

 

[Sherry and Harley]

Ugh....It's always something!! Yeah, I'm going to call the vet today. I read something online about anemia. Will keep you posted.

Thanks, Jeanne

s

 

[KarenRamboConan]

Eating dirt, etc., is called 'pica'. It is often - although not always- a sign of anemia. Take a look at her gums and see if they look pale. Hopefully the vet will have some suggestions.

And sometimes it's just being a cat. :roll:

 

[pamela and tigger]

Meanwhile, you might try getting your kitty some cat grass (If he is an indoor cat and doesn't have access to grass outdoors). Grass contains folic acid, which is as this link says, a vital nutrient for cats. If they are deficient in folic acid it could cause anemia. More info in the link:

http://www.pawsonline.info/grasseating.htm

 

[Sherry and Harley]

Hi-

It's hard to tell by looking at her gums...they're mostly black. To my knowledge, she hasn't done it again. Maybe she was just starving last night. I put a call into the vet, but she hasn't called me back yet. She had a full blood work-up in November, so unless it's something that has recently developed, it's not anemia. Will keep you posted!

Thanks!!

s


EDIT: Sorry, I should have qualified that response. I called the emergency hospital that did the bloodwork to find out....no anemia at that time. After re-reading, I realized that sounded like I was randomly determining that fact. Cheers!